Serena's Escape
by Darien Fawkes
Summary: Set after "A Strange Spell".  Serena and Peter find themselves in captivity, but who took them and why?
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: **This story WILL be short, and just cover what happened to Serena and Peter after the assault on the ship. With the series returning this weekend (finally!), I should be back to regular storylines as soon as this is dealt with.

**Legal:** I do not own the rights to Power Rangers or the characters, places, events etc. Anything not covered by the above rights should be presumed to be purely the creation of the author.

**Rating: **T – there will be adult themes, including torture.

Serena was sitting in the corner of the room, hugging her legs for comfort in the pitch black room. She had no idea where she had been taken, or why. The only thing she knew was that the people who had taken her were being incredibly careful to ensure that she would receive no opportunity to escape, and that she had no idea where she was.

When they had arrived by helicopter, she was in a hood, completely blocking out her vision. Since she and Peter had been gagged, she didn't even know if he was still with her. They had been separated when they arrived, and she hadn't seen or heard from them. The hood was only removed once they were both inside the compound.

She didn't even have any idea what this place was. They had never taken her near a window, never mind a door to the outside. Indeed, so far she had only seen the inside of this cell. It was completely made of steel bulkheads, riveted together with massive rivets. The door itself looked like it had to weigh close to two hundred pounds, and completely blocked out the light from the outside, with the exception of a vision slit that was no more than two inches high, and twelve inches wide. They had mercifully left it open, having sealed her completely in darkness when she first arrived, before opening it after what felt like hours.

She had tried to sleep when she could, but despite her exhaustion, the pain in her body together with the uncomfortable cell, she just couldn't bring herself to sleep.

She didn't know what happened to Peter. Her captors always refused to answer any of her questions whenever they brought her meals. Fox, Jarvis or Kirk would bring her a tray with plastic cutlery, and a basic, though unappetising meal, take a mouthful to show it was edible, and leave, shutting her back into darkness, only returning to collect the tray. She had no idea how long she had been here, and she didn't really want to think about it anyway. All she could consider was that Peter wasn't with her, and she had no indication what had happened to him. Was he here? Had he been taken somewhere else? Had he been released? Was he even still alive?

She heard some footsteps coming to the door, and the light was blocked slightly as a pair of eyes appeared in the doorway. Just then, the lights came on. After so long in the dark, the harsh light blinded and disorientated her, leaving her reeling in the corner, shielding her eyes. The door was opened, and Jarvis stepped in with Fox, who seemed to be carrying some form of weapon.

"We want to talk to you." Jarvis said in his deep, loud voice. He came towards Serena, pulling out what she presumed were handcuffs.

"Just try something sweetheart." Fox stated, levelling the weapon at her. "I'm begging you."

Nothing was further from Serena's mind than attempting to escape. She was weak, and disorientated as a result of her captivity, something she was sure was her captor's intent. Even if she was in any condition to fight, she doubted that she would get far anyway, considering the fact she had no idea where she would go once she was out of the cell. Jarvis secured her hands behind her back, before pulling the bag over her head, blocking out her vision again.

She was taken by the arm, and led from the cell to another part of the complex. The sound her feet made on the floor indicated that it was made of the same steel as the floor of her cell, but other than that, there was nothing she could ascertain.

When they got to her destination, indicated by the sound of another heavy door opening, she was brought inside, and forced to sit down on a chair. She felt straps being secured around her legs and waist, before her hands were released and secured to the arm rests. The hood was removed, light once more assaulted her eyes. She blinked a few times as her vision started to blur back into focus.

She saw that this room was different than her cell, being lit for a start. There was a heavy metal table in the middle, and her chair was on one side of it. Her chair and the table were bolted to the floor, though another chair was on the opposite side. Kirk was sitting in the chair, giving her a taunting little smirk as he contemplated her.

"How have you enjoyed your first night?" He asked her. Serena had to stop herself from protesting. She had only been there one night? Since she had no clocks, and no source of natural light to go by, she had no indication of the passage of time, but she couldn't believe it had only been one day.

"I'd like to complain to the manager." She responded sarcastically. "There was no welcoming mint on my pillow."

Kirk just shifted a little in his seat, and looked her in the eyes.

"So, what do I call you?" He asked her.

"Felicity Lancer." Serena replied, giving him the false name she had been using on the ship. Kirk just shook his head.

"I can see we're going to have to be more persuasive." He told her, nodding behind her. She felt her head being pulled harshly to the side, and something pressed against her neck, just behind her ear. With a hissing sound, something was injected into her.

"It'll take a moment to work, in the meantime, perhaps you'd like to reconsider your position." He continued. Serena could feel something starting to affect her, dulling her senses. She had never been a fan of spy films, but given the context, she presumed that she had been injected with some kind of truth serum. She focused as much as she could, hoping that she could keep enough of her faculties not to say something she shouldn't.

"I think we both know that isn't true." He told her. He snapped his fingers, and Fox came back into view, carrying something in a plastic bag. As he laid it on the table, Serena looked at it, her vision finally clearing enough to see that it was a golf club.

"Do you know what that is?" He asked her.

"It's a golf club." She responded, feeling the drugs starting to work their way through her system. "It's a nine iron to be exact."

"Very good." He said, picking it up. "It's also something that we'd like you to tell us more about."

"You hit golf balls with it?" Serena said, blinking a bit more. It was becoming harder to focus on what she was doing. Whatever they had shot her up with was obviously strong.

"Yes, but it looks like you hit other things with it too." He replied. "There are marks on it, that look like it was struck with a sharp, metal object. We found it on a flight on which there was a suspicious incident."

Serena realised what they meant. On her flight back to the US from London, she had used a golf club to defend herself when Kenzo attacked her.

"Your fingerprints are all over the club." He told her. "When I ran the prints from your glass through our database, it flagged a file on you. We were eager to get some answers."

Serena didn't know what they were getting at, but she supposed it wasn't good. After all, she had ended up landing that flight by herself. He put some photographs down in front of her.

"Your fingerprints were also at the site of a violent incident on a hunting estate a little way from London." He continued. "And finally, your fingerprints were found at a museum heist in the US. Do you know what connected all three sites?"

"Not really." Serena mumbled. "I want to know what happened to my husband."

"Spare me the husband line, we both know you're no more married to him than I am." Kirk snapped in response. "What do you know about swords?"

"Swords?" Serena asked him. She was finding it harder to concentrate, figuring that the drugs were really starting to kick in. She had to draw on every ounce of her mental training to keep her head clear enough to think of answers instead of just blurt them out. "Where's...?"

"Your fingerprints were all over swords at all three scenes! In the last heist, you tried to replace a multi-million dollar sword with one of equal value!" He interrupted her. "Why?"

"Where's my friend?" Serena asked him again.

"I'd be more worried about my own predicament if I were you." He told her. "You've been found at the site of a terrorist incident on an international flight..."

"Hold up, terrorist?" She asked him. He just ignored her.

"You were at the scene of a mass-murder in England, and you broke into a government building!" He snapped at her. "You've used at least two false identities that we're aware of. You have to admit, it all sounds rather suspect."

"You think I'm a terrorist?" Serena asked him, letting out a little bit of a laugh before she could stop it as a result of the drugs. She had to reel herself back in and concentrate on her meditation techniques to focus.

"Have you ever heard of the Patriot Act?" He asked her. "I can throw you back into that cell and hold you there, no access to the outside world until you grow old and die! Now tell me what I want to know!"

"Tell me what happened to my friend." Serena reiterated. He just smiled at her. This was all part of the process, getting her on her own. He wanted her to realise she was on her own, to really believe it, so she would see her situation as helpless. He just took a sip from a bottle of water slowly.

"All in good time." He reiterated. "Now, what do you know about swords?"

Serena was finding the drugs testing the very limits of her mental faculties. She knew it wouldn't be long until they forced her to blurt something out. She just made a motion with her head indicating she wanted him to come closer.

"It's a secret." She whispered. Kirk came over, and leant down to hear her answer.

"You stick the pointy end in the other guy." She whispered. She started to giggle uncontrollably as Kirk just shook his head in disbelief.

"She's not ready yet." He told Fox. "Get her back to her cell, dose her up once every three hours for the next two days. She should be willing to spill her guts by then."

"You should have just given it up." She told Serena, unstrapping her from the chair and cuffing her hands behind her back again. "Amnesty International has no idea this place exists. Have you ever heard of waterboarding? Some of the methods we have at our disposal, it'll seem like a nice shower by comparison."

"That's enough Fox." Kirk told her. He opened the door, but as the handle triggered, he heard something metal hit the floor. He opened the door a little, seeing a grenade on the floor, the safety pin removed, and the spoon a little way from it.

"Get down!" He screamed, but it was too late. It went off, sending all three to the floor. A man in black ran in, looking around before finding Serena and coming to her side, unlocking her handcuffs. It was hard for her to see given the flash, and the drugs in her system, but she finally figured it out.

"Peter?" She asked. Like her, he was covered in bruises, and given the jerky way he was acting, he seemed to be running on pure adrenaline. He released her hands.

"Serena, we need to get out of here!" He told her. She just held her head, trying to get her bearings, but was barely able to even sit upright of her own volition.

"Uh...sorry maybe next month." She commented. Peter left her for a moment, before coming back to her.

"You can kick my ass later." He told her.

"Kick your ass for what?" She asked. With that, he threw a bottle of water in her face. Before she could react, he slapped her hard across the right cheek, before doing the same to her left. "Peter!"

"Hey, it's not scientific, but its the best I could come up with on a truncated timetable." He told her, helping her to her feet. He handed her an asp, before taking one from Fox. "Come on!"

"Where?" She asked. "I haven't seen..."

"I have a great sense of direction." He told her. "I can quite literally remember where I've been blindfolded."

"I hope so." Serena replied. "So how did you get out?"

"Jarvis underestimated me." He told her with a little smile. "Never leave a nerd alone with a paperclip."

As he ran out of the room, Serena followed him, seeing some guards running towards them. Peter held his asp, ready for action.

"Sorry Serena, but my skills are a little basic in this field." He told her. "This is where you take the lead."

"With pleasure." She remarked, twirling the baton in her hand in anticipation, before ploughing into the guards.


	2. Peter's Escape

Peter was sitting in his cell, feeling the effects of his treatment. Ever since he and Serena had been brought to the compound, they had been separated. He knew that this was standard procedure for many captors, as it prevented prisoners taking comfort and strength from each other. The massive, dark-skinned man had taken great delight in dealing with Peter personally.

In the time he had been here, he had been kept in a pitch-black room, with only a small amount of light allowed in through the vision slit on the steel door. Peter had taken in every detail he had been allowed to of his place of capture. Every step they had taken sounded like it was on steel floors, and the entirety of his cell was also steel. He doubted a steel building would go unnoticed in the middle of a city. Since he hadn't felt any kind of movement, he figured they weren't on a ship, and had decided they were probably in a bunker of some description.

He had been barely fed, not that he'd consider what Jarvis had brought him food in any stretch of the word, and he was kept isolated in this uncomfortable cell, which he figured was for the purposes of sleep deprivation.

He didn't really care though, all he could think about was Serena. He hadn't known her long, but he knew that she was strong enough and stubborn enough that she would never give up any information, or give him up for her own freedom, something he was sure they'd want him to think to encourage him to talk. That only left two options, she was either somewhere else, or...it was a thought that he didn't even want to entertain. It hurt just to imagine it.

The locking mechanism triggered, and the door opened, revealing Jarvis standing there. He smiled to see Peter curled up on the floor, blinking as the light blinded him.

"It's time you and I had a chat little man." He greeted him, pulling out some handcuffs. He could see the way Peter was looking at him and just snorted. "You think you can take me? I used to be Delta Force! Just give it a try."

Peter didn't bother though. If what the dark-skinned captor had told him was true, then that meant he was former Special Forces, meaning that he was more than skilled enough to rival Peter's modest Martial Arts training. He was also almost double Peter's size, and his demeanour suggested that he would love any excuse to take liberties with him. Peter just allowed him to put the handcuffs on, before slipping the hood over his head.

"Let's go." He told him. Peter just let him take him, but all the time considered his layout. One of the gifts he had with his intelligence was a remarkable attention to detail. He not only remembered every turn they made, but he counted the steps they took between them. In his mind, he was already starting to form a layout of the complex based on what he had experienced.

They finally got to the room, and Peter was pushed in. As the hood was pulled off, Peter looked around in disgust. He had seen pictures on the internet of the equipment, but he couldn't believe anyone would actually assemble it. It was a torture chamber.

"The boss likes clever questions and sodium pentothal, but as you can see, I have other ways of getting information." Jarvis told him. He went to a bench, with straps on it, which tilted at his touch. The head end angled downwards, indicating that it was used for waterboarding.

"Is this where you ask me if I want to talk?" Peter asked him. "I know my rights. I read the Geneva Convention when I was thirteen."

"Where do you think you are pipsqueak?" Jarvis asked him, shoving Peter to the floor. He went to a desk in the corner. From where he was, Peter saw him shuffling a few papers, before picking up a telephone book. He came back across.

"As you can see, we have plenty of tools at our disposal." Jarvis stated. "But to start with, I think I'll try an old classic."

Placing the phone book against Peter's ribs, he punched it hard, winding the younger man. He understood the physics behind it, the phone book transferred the force of the blow, but distributed it over a larger area, meaning that no matter how hard Jarvis hit him, the blow would not bruise. It was an urban legend that several law enforcement agencies had used this method for years to get confessions from difficult prisoners.

Jarvis slammed his fist into the phone book another half-dozen times, each time picking another spot to hit. He seemed to delight in his task. Peter gasped for air as he finally let up.

"Come on bookworm, tell us who you are." Jarvis told him. Peter tried to think of anything he could to summon strength in this situation. He had always believed that High School was a survival experience, but Jarvis had already equalled anything that the bullies had dished out. He also had a feeling that he was more than willing to do more, given his obvious enthusiasm.

"Bookworm?" Peter asked him. "Boy, you're the brains of the outfit aren't you?"

"Keep talking poindexter." Jarvis replied, pacing the room. "I can keep this up all day."

"I'll bet you can." Peter stated. "You're a big guy, you look fit, I bet you have plenty of stamina."

Jarvis seemed a little taken aback by this outburst. He seemed confused if anything else. He wasn't expecting a compliment, or at least, what sounded like one.

"You know, I have something of a confession to make." Jarvis told him. "I really couldn't care less what you or your little girlfriend were up to."

Peter stopped as he heard this. He presumed he was talking about Serena.

"What did you do to her?" Peter asked him. Jarvis just smirked as he saw his reaction.

"Yeah, the girlfriend...or is it the wife? Oh, I don't know, and I really don't care." Jarvis commented as he put down the phone book and picked up a wickedly-carved looking blade. "It's getting to the answers that's the fun part. That's why I look forward to bringing her in."

Peter picked up on what he had said. Jarvis was clearly no brain surgeon, but here, he had just tipped him off not only to the fact that Serena was still alive, but that she was here in the same place.

"Yeah, I'll bet it's the pain thing that really gets your juices flowing." Peter answered. "You've always been a big guy haven't you?"

Jarvis just looked at him as he started speaking, shifting a little in his stance. Peter had read that right, and hit on something.

"Yeah, I'll bet you were a jock weren't you?" He asked. "What was it? Football? Hockey?"

"We aren't talking about me!" Jarvis snapped, kicking Peter in the ribs. "Now, who are you?"

"I'm guessing wrestling." Peter commented with a bit of a smile on his face. "All that close contact with other guys..."

Jarvis grabbed him and yanked him up, holding him off the ground by his shirt. Peter struggled against every fear instinct in his mind and body as he realised he had well and truly hit a nerve with Jarvis.

"That's it isn't it?" He asked. "I'm guessing you asked for me specifically..."

"Shut it boorkworm!"

"After all, I was with a beautiful young woman, and you wanted me first." He continued. "Like, you WANTED me."

"You're not the only one that can read this, I'll bet you were a little computer geek weren't you?" Jarvis asked him. "When you saw that little piece of ass in the other cell, you signed up like a shot because you knew that someone like her would never look at someone like you!" This last remark hurt, not least because it was at least partly true. He had started to think of Serena differently, but she didn't seem to notice him, and at times had even put him down directly to his face. He knew he didn't have a shot with her. As he saw the rage in Jarvis' face, he kept pressing the matter.

"Yeah, you wanted me in this situation didn't you?" Peter asked him. "You loved tormenting the little nerds at school, and you never grew up, and do you know why?"

He drew as closely as he could.

"Because you couldn't deal with how pathetic you really are!" Peter told him. Jarvis threw him though the desk, leaving him in the wreckage. Just then, his radio sounded.

"Jarvis, we need a hand in cell block three." Kirk's voice sounded. Jarvis just put it back on his belt and left the room.

"You got lucky." He retorted. "When I get back, you'll realise how lucky!"

As he left, locking the door behind him, Peter coughed loudly as he rolled around, trying to get his bearings. He finally saw something among the wreckage that could help, a report, bound together by a paperclip. He rolled over to it, and fumbled around, picking it up.

A little while later, the door opened and Jarvis returned to the room. He looked around curiously as he saw no sign of Peter. Just then, he called out in pain as a blade was rammed into his left leg, causing it to cave in under him.

Peter closed the door, before jamming the blade into Jarvis' shoulder, shoving him to the ground. He started unclipping his belt, pulling it off. Taking the asp, he slammed it into Jarvis' head, knocking him out cold.

He clipped the belt on, and handcuffed Jarvis to the bench, before heading out the room.

He took in his surroundings for a moment in the hallway, before noticing a door marked security room. He listened carefully, before slipping inside, finding only one man there, who didn't even notice he had arrived. He went up behind him, and smacked him across the back of the head, sending him to the floor.

"Alright, where are we?" He asked, beginning to work on the system. He looked through several cameras, before finding one showing Serena in another interrogation room. His heart relaxed a few beats as he confirmed that she was still alive, but seeing her in danger, it was still running on adrenaline. He had never felt anything like this, no matter how difficult a system he had just hacked. He was in a literal life or death situation, armed guards everywhere, and he could only guess as to why they were there.

"Room 4." He commented. He flicked through another few cameras, and his mind worked overtime. He had never understood it himself, but he just saw patterns and numbers and systems in a way no one else did. Where everyone else only saw images from the cameras, in his mind, he was already forming a map of the layout, one that he knew he could rely on. Once he had satisfied himself that he knew what he was doing, he left.

He sneaked down the corridor, as carefully as he could, and keeping out of sight. Fortunately there had been no alarms yet, because by the look of the few guards he had seen, they were significantly bigger than him and would probably mop the floor with his face if he tried to take them on. That kind of thing was why Daisuke had chosen Serena. Finding the door, he paused for a moment, remembering that both Fox and Kirk had been in there. He noticed a grenade on his belt, and took it off, pulling the safety pin while holding the safety lever, or "spoon" as it was called. He slipped it into the door handle, jamming it in place in such a way that the spoon would not trigger until the door was opened. He then retreated to a safe hiding spot, and hunkered down out of sight. He covered his ears as the door handle triggered and the grenade fell to the floor.

"Get down!" Kirk screamed, but it was too late, the grenade went off, fortunately it was only a flash grenade or he was sure it would have been worse. He ran into the room as the smoke started to clear, and saw Serena on the floor. Breathing a sigh of relief, he ran to her side, unlocking her handcuffs.

"Peter?" She asked.

"Serena, we need to get out of here!" He told her. She just held her head, trying to get her bearings, but was barely able to even sit upright of her own volition. From the way she was acting, he guessed that they had put her on something, a fear that was confirmed as he saw a syringe on the nearby table.

"Uh...sorry maybe next month." She commented. Peter left her for a moment, looking around frantically for something to bring her round, but only seeing a bottle of Evian. He sighed, before coming back to her.

"You can kick my ass later." He told her.

"Kick your ass for what?" She asked. With that, he threw a bottle of water in her face. Before she could react, he slapped her hard across the right cheek, before doing the same to her left. "Peter!"

"Hey, it's not scientific, but its the best I could come up with on a truncated timetable." He told her, helping her to her feet. He handed her an asp, before taking one from Fox. "Come on!"

"Where?" She asked. "I haven't seen..."

"I have a great sense of direction." He told her. "I can quite literally remember where I've been blindfolded."

"I hope so." Serena replied. "So how did you get out?"

"Jarvis underestimated me." He told her with a little smile. "Never leave a nerd alone with a paperclip."

As he ran out of the room, Serena followed him, seeing some guards running towards them. Peter held his asp, ready for action.

"Sorry Serena, but my skills are a little basic in this field." He told her. "This is where you take the lead."

"With pleasure." She remarked, twirling the baton in her hand in anticipation, before ploughing into the guards.


	3. The Revalation

Peter lent a hand where he could, but he was truly thankful for Serena's copany as the guards descended upon them. As terrifying as it was to see her decimate them with the asp he had stolen from one of the guards, he had to admit being more than a little turned on.

As they ran down the hall after taking care of another group, he grabbed her arm, stopping her.

"The database." He told her. "There's no point leaving if we don't destroy it."

"Fine, go a head." Serena sighed, following him through a door. On the other side was a computer on a desk, and a warehouse full of items.

"Right, I just need a minute to find anything relating to us." He told her. "In the meantime, this is the evidence locker. You should find the swords..."

"Evidence Locker? She asked him. He just nodded.

"I don't know who, but this bunch of jokers are obviously a government agency of some description."He told her.

Serena just nodded and went to the shelves. She had seen the same tabloids as everyone else, and had heard the horror stories of what they got up to. Of course, she never figured she'd end up in one of those stories, suspected of being a terrorist. Peter continued to work as she found two swords on the shelves.

"Alright, this is them." She told him.

"Great, then take..."

"I don't know which one it is." Serena replied honestly.

"Draw them." Peter told her. Serena did so, finding that both swords drew without the slightest resistance. She just stood holding them for a moment.

"Now what?" She asked him. Peter rolled up his shirt.

"Cut me." He told her. Serena just stared at him. "According to the legend, Kasamune will only cut what its mistress wants it to. If that's true, then the real sword won't cut me."

"But..."

"You're the blessed warrior, I believe that." He interrupted her. "Now, do it!"

Serena rested the first, cold edge against his skin. Such was the sharpness of the blade that he didn't even feel it as she dragged it across, creating a little half-inch nick on his skin. She just tossed it aside and prepared the other sword. She did the same again reluctantly, not really wanting to injure Peter, but was disappointed as this blade too drew blood.

"Neither of them." She sighed. "This was all for nothing."

"Not for nothing." Peter said with a smile. "In thirty seconds, the virus I uploaded will delete the entire database here."

"You say what now?" Serena asked him.

"It will delete any reference to us." He replied, offering her a hand. "Come on, let's go!"

Serena took up one of the swords, and took Peter by the hand, dragging him through the door. She followed his directions, which were spookily accurate as they made their way through the compound.

They found themselves on a heli-pad as they finally got outside, blinking in the daytime sun to adjust to natural light. It was then that they realised their predicament. The place they were kept on was actually a disused oil rig. They could see nothing but sea all around them.

"Great, this is just great!" Serena muttered. "We're screwed!"

"Not quite." Peter told her. "We're about twelve miles North of the coast."

"You're not seriously suggesting..."

"Do you want to stay here?" He asked her. "This way, we have a chance, albeit a slim one."

Serena considered her options before nodding. If what Kirk had said was true, then they would never leave this place alive. Peter just took her by the hand as they approached the railing.

"Are you afraid of heights?" He asked her.

"Not really." Serena replied.

"Well...great." He replied as she started to clamber over the railing. He on the other hand was genuinely terrified of heights. Well, more accurately, heights didn't bother him, nor the thought of falling as neither of those led to any real risk of injury or death, it was the sudden stop at the end that he was scared of. Serena just looked to him, her warm, green eyes that he had often dreamed of since meeting her pleading with him to come with her.

Steeling himself, he got over the railing to the other side, but still found himself frozed to the spot. He clutched the railing with all his strength, his knuckled turning white with the exertion. Serena noticed this.

"Peter?" She asked him.

"Yeah, what?" He asked. Without warning, Serena pressed her lips to his.

He went limp as he felt it. It was something he had barely dared to dream about in his wildest fantasies, but she had actually kissed him. Before he could open his eyes though, he ended up hitting water.

They both came to the surface, in time to see the oil rig starting to sink. Serena just looked to Peter.

"I figured we could do with a distraction." He told her.

"Great, now which way's the coast?" She asked him. Peter pointed the way, at which Serena started swimming. Peter just followed dutifully.

It took a long time to reach the coast, but they finally did. Serena and Peter pulled themselves up a ladder onto a jetty, looking out over the unidentified city they were in.

"Alright, so where in the hell are we?" Serena asked him.

A local passed them, before muttering something in his native tongue and shaking his head in disbelief. Peter just sighed.

"I think we're in Copenhagen." He told her.

"Sweden?" She shrieked.

"Hell, it's better than the oil rig." He told her. He nodded towards a pay phone. "Look, we need to regroup. I'll make a call."

"With what?" Serena called after him. "Unless you didn't notice, we've got no equipment, no contact, no money..."

Just then, he smiled as he made the call.

"Reverse charges to the US." He told the operator. "Number..."

Serena slumped down on a nearby bench, once again feeling completely stupid in Peter's presence. It would never have occurred to her to make a reverse-charge call home. She would likely still be languishing in a cell if ti wasn't for Peter. She just watched him finishing the call, hanging up and smiling at her.

"Three blocks north there's a motel." He told her. "Hayley booked us a room."

"You mean..."

"Unless you want to steal clothes first." He suggested. Serena just sighed. There were a lot of things she hated about this trip. So far she had been beaten, stabbed, electrocuted, accused of terrorism by her own government, but most of all, one thing that the trip had opened her eyes to was how guarded and sheltered she really had been.

Back on the farm, her training for her duty as the Yellow Samurai had taken up most of her life. She had read newspapers, but it wasn't her primary focus. Some of the things Peter knew and did as a matter of habit genuinely baffled her. In truth, although she didn't have contact with her sister to talk about it, the fact was that at times, she lashed out at him in frustration. Frustration born out of the fact that he made her feel something she never had. She felt stupid.

She went with Peter to a nearby street, all the time sticking close to him. It was a situation she was not used to being in, relying on others, but she was well and truly in his world now, and it scared her shitless to be reliant on someone else.

He was a skinny, ninety pound nerd, with glasses that looked like they could block radiation, but her life depended on him right now. He seemed to know every step to make, every turn to take, and she had no option but to just follow. Her mother had always taught her to be strong, but right now she felt weaker than ever in his presence. She had no idea how Peter could do the things he did with his mind, but right now, all she could offer was a set of knuckles that knew what they were doing if he needed them. It didn't feel good to know that she was the dumb muscle.

"Here." He told her, taking her into a motel. He walked up to the receptionist, past the housekeeper, who was far from happy about the water-logged footprints they left on entering. "Jason Scott-Lee and Trini Scot-Lee."

"Ah, your booking's right here." The receptionist said, not even looking up as she handed them a key. Peter caught a glimpse and saw she was viewing a youtube video. "Third floor, fourth door on the right."

"Is there room service?" He asked her. She just shook her head.

"There's a take-away menu on the desk." She told him. "Just call it in."

They made their way to the elevator, and rode it up, getting to their room. Serena looked thoroughly relieved as she got there.

"So, we have the option of pizza or...pizza." He told her, checking out the menu.

"Just get one with everything on it." She said, looking to the bed longingly. "I could resort to cannibalism soon."

"Well the closest they have is bacon." He said with a forced laugh. Serena never responded though, she never did when he made a joke. Hearing a voice on the other end, he just made the order, an 18" pie with everything.

By the time he turned back into the room, Serena was crashed out on the bed, stripped to the waist, face down and snoring loudly. He couldn't help smiling, finding it more than a little cute and adorable. She was the badass warrior, he was tech support. That was drilled into him before the mission even began, but he couldn't help finding her beautiful, even though she currently was making sounds that would rival a broken chainsaw.

Later, neither of them knew how much later, there was a knock on the door. Serena saw Peter laying next to her and freaked out, snatching up the sheets. She wrapped herself up as he looked somewhat stunned on the floor.

"What the hell?" She asked.

"Pizza." He stated. "It'll be the pizza..."

Serena stormed into the bathroom and slammed the door shut. Peter couldn't even really remember lying down with her, but he knew he had to have ended up there given what had happened. He went to the door, opening it.

"Sorry, I don't have..."

"It's alright, you paid online." The pizza boy told him. "Enjoy the pizza Mr. Collins."

He put the box down and gently knocked the door to the bathroom.

"Serena..."

"Go away!" She roared.

"The Pizza's here!" He called back. There was a little pause, before she answered.

"Close your eyes." She sighed. Peter did as he was told. He always would for her. Serena went in and put on her underwear, but paused as the smell of the pizza overtook her. She went to the desk and nudged Peter.

He went completely red as he saw her in her underwear, but forced his way through it. She was smiling, and to him that was better than any drug on the planet.

"Come on, it's pizza!" Serena told him as she picked up a slice.

In the morning, there was a knock on the door. Peter didn't really know what had happened, all he knew was that they had asked for a bottle of tequila and an empty bottle was sitting not far from them. It was troubling, because he remembered everything, literally everything! He went to the door, finding a kid there in a polo shirt bearing the logo of the motel. He was carrying a parcel.

"Urgent delivery." He muttered, sounding put-out by the task. Peter just took it from him and sent the boy on his way. He opened the parcel, finding a laptop in it, and started to boot it up.

He watched the screen for what felt like hours before it asked him for the password. He typed in the one he had been given by Hayley, and it opened up. He looked at the screen incredulously.

"Oh, you have got to be kidding!" He muttered. Just then, he felt a hand on his shoulder. Serena was standing behind him, wrapped only in sheets. He really wished she wouldn't do that, he had accepted that there would never be anything between them, but seeing her almost naked kind of gave him some somewhat less than admirable thoughts.

"What is it?" She asked him.

"Hayley's ensured our fingerprints won't set off any alarms when we head to the US." He told her a little nervously.

"The US?" Serena asked, turning the laptop to face her. She could barely contain her anger as she waw what the latest communication said, her entire face and neck turned red, just one of the little things that Peter had noticed and loved, but was also terrified of.

"Serena..."

"EBay." She snorted. "Fucking E-Bay!"

Serena...

"Peter, I've been attacked by ghosts, accused of terrorism, stabbed, beaten...and no Hayley says the sword..."

"She obviously didn't know." Peter said as comfortingly as he could, stroking her shoulders. He recoiled his hands quickly as Serena looked around.

"It's been five minutes' walk fro the Shiba House the whole time!" She roared. "What the hell kind of name is Farquis Bulkmeyer?"

"The name of someone we have to treat nicely if we;re to get it." He reminded her. Serena just nodded.

"I am so going to be st for favours for the next lifetime when we're done." She replied. "So..."

"Our plane tickets are here." He told her, showing them to Serena. "As are our passports, and a couple of outfits..."

"Fine, just...go online and confirm our booking." Serena told him. As Peter did what he was told, and Serena started to change, he couldn't help smiling. She hadn't told him to leave the room as she changed, and she hadn't said a word about the fact they had woken up in each others' arms. He was starting to believe in the impossible.


End file.
